Nearly 60% of all retail spending is now made in supermarkets, according to a new report.

The Payments Council study found that 58p in every retail pound is handed to them, up from 46p a decade ago.

The changing trend shows that in the last 10 years supermarkets have taken an extra 26% of retail sector spending.

The Payments Council said the latest data also showed that the UK spent £58bn on entertainment last year, 60% more than in 2001 and outstripping growth in consumer spending by over a quarter.

However, the wide-ranging survey was carried out before the discovery of horsemeat in a number of processed meat products across several supermarkets which is believed to have hit sales.

It came as spending in restaurants and cafes was revealed to have almost doubled in the same period.

According to the report, The Way We Pay, a number of consumer trends have been combined for the first time.

It said cash purchases continue to migrate to debit card payments but it warns that plastic spending may become history. The study said that mobile phones, led by the smartphone revolution, look increasingly likely to become the primary payment vehicle.

Image Caption:Smartphones are expected to become an important payment vehicle

The Payment Council also said cheque usage halves every five years.

In 2003, 43% of our retail spending by value was with cash, but now it is just 30% - with the majority being for payments under £5.

Chief executive Adrian Kamellard said: "We scarcely notice the steady changes in the way we pay, yet someone in their thirties today will see more change in their lifetime than in the entire history of money.

"Even recent innovations such as payment via a mobile phone, which ten years ago some felt to be science fiction, will soon be commonplace. The 2000s were the decade of the debit card.

"The 2010s are likely to be the decade of the mobile phone. Just as we can't imagine how we ever did without the internet, many people will soon wonder how we used to be so dependent on cash and cheque - 20 years from now even cards may seem archaic."

The report also looked at how leisure pursuits continue to shift for many people.

Spending in furniture and homeware shops is down by nearly half during the last decade, as is spending in DIY stores.

Meanwhile, the digital revolution of the media has now hit the delivery of publishing - newsagents have lost nearly 20% of their trade in the past 10 years.